Kansas City Royals: What Went Right in 2016

Apr 21, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals players Alex Gordon (4), Kendrys Morales (25), Jarrod Dyson (1) and Danny Duffy (41) celebrate after beating the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

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Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Matt Strahm (64) – Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Emergence of Strahm

Matt Strahm is the bomb! At least that seemed to be the general consensus after his thrilling debut in the majors this past season.

Now Strahm will have all offseason to work at becoming either one of the best relievers the Royals have or to make his way into that starting rotation for 2017.

Strahm joined the Royals over the summer due to multiple injuries in the bullpen and rode it out with them through the end of the season.

He became one of the most reliable pitchers out of the bullpen, and the hope is for him to either keep that role or become a starter in 2017.

The young pitcher appeared in 21 games and had a season ERA of 1.23. He pitched in 22 innings and had 30 strikeouts during that time.

Kansas City did have to limit their usage of Strahm out of the pen in 2016 due to his Tommy John surgery he had earlier in his career. That explains the low amount of innings pitched despite being with the team for as long as he was in 2016.

Now Strahm will have all offseason to work at becoming either one of the best relievers the Royals have or to make his way into that starting rotation for 2017.

Either way, it’s nice to finally see a talented young pitcher coming out of the Royals’ farm system.

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